Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Don't Upset The Bear - Take Your Vitamins LP

Every now and then a band or a record comes along that just leaves me scratching my head. Don't Upset the Bear and their LP "Take Your Vitamins" both had me scratching as if I were cast in a Head & Shoulders TV ad. The band has that loose Rock Sound that has a bit of a driving, jangley vibe. Creating a versatile sound that left me guessing, "Are they Rock?" "Are they Country?" "Are they on drugs?" The bands musicianship is notable featuring the impressive guitar work of Ryan Hardt and the praise worthy drumming of Glen Monturi. However, Hardt's vocal ability has a lot to be desired. His voice and delivery were the biggest drawbacks as far as I was concerned. While
"Take Your Vitamins" definitely had it's positives, "Why Me, What Luck, Where to?" It was tracks like "Gypsy Queen" that had me wishing I was temporarily deaf. The Midland Park NJ band will be playing Maxwell's this June 1st with Melissa and Paul and others. I just might have to go see them to stop my head from shaking. James Damion

2 comments:

In the first 20 seconds of the song "Why Me, What Luck, Where to?" I thought these guys were conjuring Hoover and I got a little excited to see where this was going, however where we end up is in the 1990's indie scene. I have no problem with the vocals in all honesty, as they are delivered with honesty and enough emotion to to keep me interested.

The next song "Gold" is a nice jangly track that maybe has a slight alt/country feel to it.

Overall I don't dislike this ep at all but it leaves me with a feeling that I have heard this all before and I just can't put my finger on it...Dave G.

I saw these guys at The Studio at Webster Hall and they have a pretty strong fan base for a small town band. Sorry Dave, I think they have a pretty unique sound and they really don't sound like anybody else. The song writing is really good but in all honesty, the guitar work is weak. Drums and bass are pretty strong.

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